Lehman Bankruptcy Advisers’ Fees Top $1 Billion

Lehman Bankruptcy Advisers’ Fees Top $1 Billion

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. paid its lawyers and managers $51.8 million in September, putting total advisers’ fees over the billion-dollar mark after 24 1/2 months in bankruptcy court, according to a court filing.

Restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal LLC, which runs the defunct investment bank through its co-founder, Bryan Marsal, led recipients with $356.4 million in fees for “interim management,” according to an Oct. 18 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP of New York has collected $237 million for acting as the lead bankruptcy-law firm.

Lehman, which pays advisers at the rate of $1.3 million every day of the year, calculated last month that its creditors may eventually recover an average of 15.8 cents on the dollar. The advisers haven’t faced major challenges from the bankruptcy judge or trustee who monitor such payments.

Lehman, once the world’s fourth-biggest investment bank, filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history in September 2008 with assets of $639 billion. Creditors include Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS AG, the New York Giants professional football team and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority as well as individuals who hold Lehman bonds.

The case is In re Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., 08-13555, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).